Air ring gun



Jan. 14, 1964 tg-L. I I v --A gay. 2.

C- ALLEN, JR

AIR RING GUN Filed Sept. 1. 1961 INVENTOR. CHARLES S. ALLEN, JR.

ATTORNEY United States Patent edgewo'od Drive, .C. Filed Sept. 1, 1961,Ser. No. 135,667

1 (ill. lifts- 1) This invention relates to a device especially usefulas an amusement device in the form of a toy gun.

Toy guns of all types have long had a great appeal for young people.Such toys range from the variety which simply make noise responsive toactuation of trigger mechanism to those which eject projectiles ofvarious kinds with varying amounts of force. These devices which simplymake noise lack the a raction inherent in the projectile firing deviceswhile those which fire projectiles have a certain amount of dangerinherent in their use.

Accordingly, it is an important object of this invention to provide atoy gun which would be especially attractive in that it makes noise andemits an air ring with sufficient force to be felt and to dislodgeobjects, thus having many of the advantages of the projectile type gunwithout its disadvantages.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel toy in the formof a gun which emits an air ring which may be used safely by children.

Anoth r object of this invention is to provide a toy gun which is usefulfor target practice but which fires no projectiles having a potentialfor destruction.

It is believed that the subject device will also have commercial andindustrial uses although such are not developed at present.

The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of thefollowing specification and by reference to the accompanying drawingforming a part thereof, wherein an example of the invention is shown andwherein:

FEGURE 1 is a side elevation illustrating a toy gun constructed inaccordance with the present invention, with parts in section,

FIGURE 2 is a rear elevation of the device shown in FIGURE 1, and

FIGURE 3 is a front elevation of the device shown in FIGURE 1.

The air gun illustrated in FIGURE 1 has a gun housing A which carries atrigger mechanism B. An air chamber C is carried by the housing and ispreferably in the form of a barrel-like closure or drum. A diaphragm Dis positioned across the drum C on the end thereof adjacent the triggermechanism B while a relatively small aperture E preferably circular inshape is carried opposite the diaphragm. The trigger mechanism B carriesa hammer or other strik ng element F which strikes the diaphragm D asillustrated in dotted lines in FIGURE 1.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the housing A is illustratedas having a pistol grip portion 1i? and a barrel supporting stock 11.While the device is illustrated in the form of a pistol, it may beadapted to be of another type such as that which is fired from theshoulder. The trigger mechanism is illustrated as including a lever 12and a trigger portion 13 integral therewith. The lever portion 12 andthe trigger 13 are pivoted intermediately as at 14 within an opening 15within the housing. A tor sion spring 16 is provided to normallymaintain a trigger mechanism in rearward or cocked position asillustrated in solid lines in FTGURE 1.

An air chamber in the form of a drum-like housing C is preferablyelongated and cylindrical in shape, and includes a conical portion 17which may be constructed of any suitable material. The drum 17 issupported by the stock 11 at 111: as is suitably secured thereto as by a3,ll?,5h? Patented Jan. 14, 1 384 suitable glue (not specificallyillustrated). The drum includes an enlarged annular bead 17a defining anannular slot 17b therein on the end adjacent the trigger mechanism B. Onthe end of the drum 17 opposite the trigger mechanism a vertical portionis illustrated.

The diaphragm D is preferably constructed in the form of a membrane 18of a suitable material such as polyethylene. The membrane passes overthe bead 17a as at 13a and a downturned portion 18b is confined withinthe slot 17b in the drum. The aperture E in the portion opposite thediaphragm D is illustrated as being preferably in the form of a circularaperture 19.

The hammer F is illustrated as being fixed adjacent the upper end of thelever 12 and upon the application of a gripping force to the trigger 13the hammer is caused to strike the diaphragm D as illustrated in brokenlines in FIGURE 1. This striking action causes an air ring to be emittedfrom the aperture E and since the aperture E is illustrated as beingcircular, the air ring will be toroidal in shape with air currentsflowing from the inside outwardly as illustrated at R in FIGURE 1. Frontand rear sights 2t and 21 are illustrated for directing the outward pathof the air ring R.

Toy guns manufactured in accordance with the invention make an excellentindoor game. This is done with soap bubbles and using the gun to burstthe bubbles. Sometimes the air ring strikes the bubble and puts anothersmaller bubble inside the target bubble. Also, at times, the ring willhit the bubble and bounce oil, causing five to twenty five smallerbubbles to be knocked off that records a hit, but leaving the targetbubble intact. Also, as a toy, it will activate any light targetedshooting gallery, with or without electrical or battery operatedcontacts or switches. It will knock over cigarettes stood on end atclose range. It will put out a candle light at from five to ten feet ormore, according to the size of g the gun.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described usingspecific terms, such description is for illustrative purposes only, andit is to be understood that changes and variations may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the following claim.

What is claimed is:

An air gun including, a gun housing, a trigger mechanism carried in saidhousing, said trigger mechanism including a link pivotally carried bythe housing intermediate its ends, one end of said link extending belowthe housing forming a trigger, the free end of said link extendingupwardly above said housing, an elongated cylindrical air chambercarried by said housing being mounted longitudinally thereof so as toform a barrel for the gun, a diaphragm carried on one end of the housingadjacent said trigger mechanism, a relatively small cylindrical aperturein said air chamber opposite said diaphragm, a hammer carried by thefree end of said link, resilient means normally holding the trigger andhammer in positron for moving the hammer for striking the diaphragmresponsive to movement of the trigger mechanism, against said resilientmeans whereby an air ring is emitted from the aperture.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,534,398 Beathan Dec. 19, 1950 2,543,651 Weiss Feb. 27, 1951 2,628,450Shelton Feb. 17, 1953 2,788,607 Ward Apr. 16, 1957 2,879,759 Webb Mar.31, 1959

